Kieran and The Joes: Teampowered

Teambuilding seminar with more laughs than cringes

Taking a cue from Office-style humour, which seeks to entertain with the toe-curlingly cringeworthy, Joe Markham, Joe Parham and Kieran Hodgson’s show takes the form of a teambuilding seminar. From the inspirational music and matching pink ties to pleas for audience enthusiasm, all signs point to an hour of trying to avoid the eyes of the performers and thus being chosen to participate in an awkward skit.

With Joe 1 in the lead, Joe 2 constantly trying to exert his authority and Kieran filling the role of work-experience dolt, things, predictably, go awry and Joe 1 loses his grip on proceedings. What could have been a tiresome hour of David Brent-type white collar horror is instead filled with a whole variety of gags. Following the structure of a seminar holds things together nicely without becoming constraining.

While the participation aspect is actually fairly mild, on this particular day a lively audience contributes greatly to material that could have been undermined by a less willing crowd. By the end of the hour the boys do succeed in creating a bonded group: one whose aim is to fully invest in and enjoy the show. Surely that’s a team worth building.

An unforgettable teamwork master class from the new kings of lifestyle seminar comedy. A show for anyone who ever felt like maybe they wanted to be a part of something. Come as an audience, leave as a team. ★★★★★ 'fantastically funny' (ThreeWeeks), ★★★★ 'sheer hilarity' (Chortle.co.uk), ★★★★ 'comedy genius' (Edinburgh…